Centuries ago writing was done mostly by scribes or priests but as more and more people acquired an education and learned to read and write scripts began to develop. Some would reflect the type of education, some the person's work and others the writer's station in society. There was a script considered a "Gentleman's" and a special "Ladies Hand" that was particularly elaborate and florished. In the 19th century the Spencerian style of writing with its graceful elegance was the most used but in the 20th century the Palmer and Zane-Bloser styles were the favorites of American schools with penmanship taught weekly if not daily. Late in the 20th century penmanship was dropped from the curriculum and Denealian was picked up with the idea the little tail of the letters would more easily lead to cursive writing from printing.

     Educators argue that good handwriting means higher scores on SAT and other tests.  Other educators claim with computers and other technology learning cursive is a wast of time but somehow we have larger and larger drop out rates, illegible writing and poor spelling.  Handwriting has a subliminal effect as well they may not know about.

     The practice of penmanship encourages impulse control. The ovals of letters a, d, g, o are like the mouth and to close them tightly is to enforce not speeaking when someone else is talking and not to tattle. The stem of the t or d and blades of the m, n, w made with a retraced up and down stroke emphasizes control of emotions and impulses. The garland connections from one letter to the next are like a wave and should have a rhythmic look. It also promotes friendliness and connection to others. The closely formed dots of the i or j indicate attention to detail and paying attention. The g, y, or less used z should have tails or lower loops that are as wide as the oval. Is it a surprise to you to learn that Germany was turning out more scientists than any other country with their high pointed m's and n's. It encourages control of emotions and speed of thought as well as to investigate and explore both the known and unknown.

     Once children or adults learn to make the letters without having to focus on how to form each one the personality starts to show in the writing. It is the differences found from the copybook or school form learned that gives the graphologist the information for an analysis. Everything on the page is considered. The amount of white space, the style of writing, the margin size and placement, the connectors, the punctuation, the line of writing which is called the baseline, and anything unusual or emphasized.